Lockets
by futureauthor13
Summary: The story about what happened those first few months after Seto took over KaibaCorp and Gozaburo disappeared, a look into the relationship of two brothers, and the reason and history behind two certain trading card shaped lockets. Not slash, just brotherly fluff. Oneshot.


While the days before his brother's takeover of KaibaCorp. had been horrible and ones Mokuba wished to forget, the days afterwards were some of the best he'd had in years.

Despite being the new CEO of a major company now, Seto had decided to set aside some time to be with Mokuba, to make up for all the hours of playtime he missed and all the things he had done that he wasn't so proud of. Seto had insisted on playing Mokuba's favorite games, and told the chef's to make his favorite foods. In the same day, they went to the playground and the local toy stores. It was a celebration of their freedom, and the thought of his stepfather's face if he saw them buying toys and playing games, made it all the more sweeter in Seto's eyes.

But that night, was where Mokuba's favorite memory took place. It was dark, and while he was in a room filled with new toys and had a tummy full of sweets, Mokuba still felt like something was missing.

Mokuba had been forbidden to leave his room at night, most likely because Gozaburo didn't want him to break anything or to deal with Seto's fury if Mokuba ran away. Of course, Mokuba would never abandon his big brother. After all, Seto didn't abandon him.

The raven-haired boy had walked down the long, cold hall to his brother's room. He still felt a bit nervous, but tried to shake it off, reminding himself that Big Brother was in charge now. When he finally arrived, he knocked on the tall door. When Seto answered, he looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked, getting right to the point.

Mokuba looked at his brother, his eyes starting to get misty. "S-Seto, Um..." A hot tear rolled down his cheek. That was all Mokuba could get out before Seto wrapped his arms around him in a strong hug, and Mokuba didn't hesitate to hug back.

When the boy's cries were reduced to mere sniffles, Seto led him to his king-sized bed. The day had been so full of emotions. Happy that their step-father was gone, guilty about how he had treated his little brother, there was even a part of Seto that was worried that maybe this wasn't the last they would see of Gozaburo.

If Seto - the boy who had learned to keep his emotions locked away - was feeling all these things, he imagined that Mokuba was feeling all these things and more. It was foolish of him to think a day of shopping and playtime would erase three years of misery. Right now, they didn't need material things, or even the knowledge that they were in charge of KaibaCorp. They simply needed each other.

The two brothers hadn't needed to share a bed since their days in that slightly overcrowded orphanage, but this time, it was their choice. It seemed like as soon as Mokuba's head hit the pillow, he went right to sleep with his arms tightly wrapped around his big brother's arm as if it were a teddy bear.

Seto on the other hand, stayed awake most of the night. He thought about his past, his present, and his future. He was the head of a major company and not even a teenager yet! His brother, he already decided, was going to be his vice president. They could do what _they_ wanted to do with KaibaCorp.

But, nothing was that simple in Seto's mind, not anymore. If there was one think his stepfather had taught him, it was to make sure you could take care of yourself, because there was no one else in the world you could trust.

The brunette Kaiba glanced at his little brother, peacefully sleeping without a hint of bad dreams. Seto supposed he already broke that rule, if there was anyone he did trust - that he did care about - it was Mokuba. Without him, he would still be under Gozaburo's power.

It was right then, Seto decided that he was going to face his future head on. If the world wasn't going to accept the new KaibaCorp and it's direction, then Seto Kaiba was going to make them accept it. He was going to work hard to make sure their company remained a household name. He was going to provide everything he and his brother would need. If he would make any enemies - though, since he was a Kaiba he probably already had - he would protect Mokuba from them at all costs.

Everything he was going to do from then on would be for himself or for Mokuba, no one else mattered. They could face the world together. After all, they had made it through everything else that had happened in their lives, and they were still standing.

He squeezed his brother's hand. 'I promise, Mokie,' he thought, 'I'll never stop protecting you.'

With that, the older brother laid his head on his pillow and stared up at the ceiling, slowly but surely falling into a dreamless sleep.

()()()()()()

The next few months had been, for lack of a better word, good.

Seto had embraced his responsibilities as the new head of KaibaCorp with open arms, and had put it on the fast track to becoming the next great gaming company. Of course, there were the usual comments. "Him?! But he's so young!" "What does a punk kid know about running a company?" "Call the boys when we get in the car, I'm getting off this sinking ship before this 'junior captain' crashes it."

While these clueless old men enraged him, Seto kept a cool head, and convinced them one-by-one to stay. His 'No Nonsense' attitude also kept his employees on their toes and working hard. Even when the Big Five tried to talk him out of an idea, it proved to be wasted breath. After all, Seto had been trained by the late Gozaburo himself, and he knew all the tricks in the book on how to run a business and make deals. However much their stocks had dropped when Seto took over, they rose twice as much by the end of the Summer season.

But business wasn't the only thing Seto concentrated on.

"Hey! Big Brother!" Seto looked away from his computer screen and directed his attention to his brother standing at the doorway. Mokuba held up a small box with a picture of a Blue Eyes White Dragon, their favorite duel monster. "I found this puzzle, you wanna put it together?"

It was only a one hundred and fifty pieces, they could easily put it together in half an hour. Besides, he wanted to keep Mokuba in a good mood. "Yeah, sure," Seto replied with a small smile.

"Yay!" Mokuba took a seat on the floor and took off the top of the box while Seto saved the document he was working on and put the computer in sleep mode.

As much time as Seto had put into working, he had tried to put just as much into being a good brother to Mokuba. Unlike Gozaburo who thought of Mokuba as the useless attachment that came with the true prize, Seto always thought of Mokuba as his equal. When Mokuba asked about work, Kaiba wouldn't just say 'nothing' or try to give him the quickest answer, he let his brother know everything. After all, he was the vice president.

Seto also made sure to play with Mokuba. Even on the days when Seto either couldn't play or didn't want just because of the fact that he couldn't afford to get behind, he would always let Mokuba play in the same room as him, not just hand him off to some maid and say "Keep him out of my way."

The spring and summer months had been busy, and even though there were moments when Mokuba wished Seto wasn't so busy, they were also happy. But as Mokuba helped organize the small pieces and sort out the corner and side pieces, he couldn't help but think these days were coming to a close.

After a hardy meal and a hot bath, Mokuba found himself with nothing else to do but to go to sleep and wait for the next morning to arrive, whether he wanted it to or not.

"Mokuba?" Mokuba turned to look at his brother, standing in the doorway. "Do you need anything?"

He shook his head. "I'm good," he replied, crawling into bed. Seto walked over and tucked him in.

"Alright, goodnight Mokuba." "Goodnight, Seto." Mokuba's voice was forced, as if he wanted nothing more than to go to bed in silence. Seto could tell his brother was trying to sound happy for his sake, but didn't say another word as he shut the door to his brother's bedroom.

Mokuba couldn't have stayed up all night even if he wanted to, but that didn't mean he didn't get a goodnight's sleep. His dreams were full of small shadows, pointing and laughing at him with horrible smiles. There was a big shadow that was constantly glaring at him, so much so it reminded him of Gozaburo. But the worst part of the dream, was that Seto was no where to be found.

Even chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate milk couldn't put a smile on his face after that.

So, breakfast was silent, at least for most of the morning. When he noticed the time, and how soon they would be leaving, Mokuba finally worked up the courage to say what was on his mind. "I don't want to go."

Seto looked at him. "I don't want to go, Seto," Mokuba repeated, "What if there are bullies there? Or the teacher's mean? Or I don't see you when it's time to go home?"

"Why wouldn't I be there?"

Mokuba shrugged his shoulders. "I promised you I would pick you up, didn't I?" The boy waited a moment before nodding. "You still can't prove the other things won't happen though, Seto."

"I've done plenty of research on the school and I've done detailed background checks on their staff," Seto told him, looking his younger brother straight in the eye, "Everything will be just fine."

"I still wish you could be there," Mokuba mumbled, looking down at his now cold pancakes. He looked back up at his brother. "Why can't I have tutors like you did?"

Seto's eyes hardened. His tutors had been strict and horrible, even if they were intelligent, though not as smart as him. Mokuba hadn't gone to school, but instead received one private teacher that was only paid to teach him the basics. If Mokuba struggled with anything, he would go to Seto, knowing his teacher just wouldn't care. Mokuba didn't hate her, he just didn't like her. Seto on the other hand, was a different story.

"You're going to school," Seto told him, a sense of finality in his voice. Mokuba knew that was the end of the conversation.

"Okay, Seto," Mokuba said before taking a bite of his breakfast, not saying another word. Seto returned the silence, and actually left the table. Mokuba nearly called him back, but stopped himself.

'He probably wants you to go to school so you can learn to be strong like him,' Mokuba told himself, 'So you can stop being so clingy. He's probably glad you'll be gone for a few hours.' He shook his head. No, that wasn't true, at least, not that last part. Part of Mokuba did however believe his brother would want him to be strong and not worry about something like going to school. To be like him and face the world with your head held high. Trying to force himself to be this way too, Mokuba forced himself to eat the rest of his breakfast, knowing he would be hungry if he didn't.

After breakfast, since he was already dressed, Mokuba simply grabbed the lunch one of the maids made him and sat down on the couch next to his bookbag that had been prepared nearly a week ago.

When he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, Mokuba turned to look. It was Seto. Quickly standing up, Mokuba looked at him and said in a shaky voice, "I'm ready to go, Seto."

"Not yet," Seto replied, making Mokuba blink in surprise. It was then that Mokuba noticed a small, flat box in his brother's hand.

"What's that?" "Something I was hoping to show you today." It had been ordered to come nearly three days ago, but there was a mix up somewhere in the post office. Luckily, it had arrived just a few hours ago. Good thing too, otherwise the young CEO would have some very choice words for the post.

Curious, Mokuba sat down while Seto took a seat next to him. Taking off the lid, Mokuba saw two cards sitting on a soft, red pillow. Wait, those weren't cards, they were too thick. Looking closer, Mokuba could see that they were some sort of locket, a necklace. "Jewelry?"

"Not the word I would use, but I guess it is in the same category." The older Kaiba took one of the lockets out of the box and handed it to Mokuba. "This one's yours."

Mokuba opened it, and his eyes widened. Inside was a picture that seemed like it was taken nearly a lifetime ago, but in reality, it was only a few short years ago. It was his older brother, smiling as he played a game of chess inside one of the rooms in the orphanage. "I remember this picture!"

Seto nodded. "Look." He took out the other locket and opened it. Inside was the other half of the picture. "That's me!" Mokuba pointed out. He looked at his brother. "So, I have a picture of you, and you'll have a picture of me?"

His brother nodded again. "I bought these just for us and put the pictures in myself. It's yours if you want it."

Mokuba looked back at his own locket, the younger version of his brother smiling at him. "So, it'll be like you're always with me, and I'm always with you!" Seto smiled and Mokuba grinned before giving him a big hug.

"Thanks, big brother." Seto hugged back, and when the hug ended, Mokuba slipped the necklace over his head, smiling down at it. "And you're going to wear yours too, right?"

The older Kaiba didn't even answer him. He simply smiled as he slipped his own necklace over his head.

Feeling much more confident, Mokuba grabbed his bag and followed his brother out to the limo. Even if he was a bit nervous still, all Mokuba had to do was either look at his brother, or hold onto the locket, and he instantly felt better.

The school building stood tall, with students walking inside and all around it. It looked strong, with plenty of bricks and concrete holding it up. There were also several teachers, greeting the students and welcoming them back after summer vacation.

"I'll be right here after school," Seto reminded him.

"I know," Mokuba replied, though he still remained in the car.

"Hey." The boy looked at him, and Seto gave him a smile. "Have fun, okay?"

If this had been years later, people would be shocked to hear the stoic CEO even utter the word. In that moment however, that was Seto's wish. For his little brother to have fun, to smile, to be alright.

Mokuba smiled back. "Okay!" He opened the door, and hoped out. As he walked towards the school, he waved goodbye, keeping one hand on the locket while the other was in the air.

Seto simply smiled at him as the car rolled away. As soon as the school was out of sight, Seto's smile faded. He found himself clutching his own locket, thinking back to the promise he had made to himself and Mokuba so many nights before.

He didn't need anyone to tell him that he couldn't protect Mokuba from everything. That if he did, that would mean not letting him go to school, or make new friends, or experience anything new really. Seto was smart enough and old enough now to know that, but that didn't mean he liked it.

Even if he couldn't protect him from everything though, Seto still promised to always be there for him. To support him in whatever, and to never ignore or abandon him. _That_ was one promise he could keep. One that his little brother was already doing, and would most likely continue to do.

They were brothers, a pair with a bond that could never be broken. Even when things like distance or work or any obstacle that life had up its sleeves would come between them, their thoughts and hearts would always be with each other.

In Seto's mind, it came down to one simple statement:

Mokuba needed him and, perhaps even more so, he needed Mokuba.

That is why, when he ordered the lockets, he didn't hesitate to order two of them instead of one.

**The story of how the Kaiba Brothers got their necklaces has been in my head ever since I started rewatching the series. When I started to write it out, it turned into more of a look into what the necklaces represent and how they would maybe help in a certain time in the Kaibas lives, rather than just how Kaiba ordered them online and put their pictures in them.**

**Honestly, as much as I love Mokuba, Seto is probably my favorite character to write about just because there are so many layers to his character and ways to look at him. Even when I'm not writing, I find myself drawn to stories about Seto and Mokuba just because their relationship, history and characters are so interesting. (Btw, I just found this story called Paved With Good Intentions: Blue Eyes, Violet Eyes, and I ended up reading the whole thing in one day. Definitely recommend, and definitely gonna read the other stories the author's written). **

**Enough of my rambling, I hope you enjoyed reading. Please review, and have a nice day. **


End file.
